Three Seconds
by syfygal
Summary: AU of 2x07. When The Count held the syringe of pure Vertigo to Felicity's throat, Oliver knew that he would kill this man to save her life, but in the space of about three seconds, it all went to hell pretty quickly.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I am only a recent fan of Arrow, so this is my first foray into this fandom. Please bear with me as I try to be as close to character as possible and drop a review to let me know how I went!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Arrow or any associated characters. Just having a little play is all. AU of 2 x 07_

* * *

 **Three Seconds**

Oliver lowered the bow slowly, his intense gaze focused on Felicity as her painted lips trembled. He needed her to know that if he had to break the "no more killing" rule, it would be so she wouldn't get hurt - because he dragged her into this whole mess by getting himself shot by his mother.

He tossed the arrow aside, his brow furrowed as he risked a step forward; his chest heaving with panic and exertion. If The Count managed to get those needles into Felicity's exposed throat, he would never _ever_ forgive himself.

'Your problem is with me...It's not with her.' Oliver managed calmly, although his pounding heart threatened to jump out of his chest at the sight before him.

'Consider this your penalty for making me go to Plan B in the first place,' The Count growled in reply, drawing his arm back.

Rage spilled into his blood like a burning fire and without thinking, Oliver nocked an arrow with a speed that surpassed human ability and released it with a scowl, following up with two more as the first was buried into his chest...and the needles into Felicity's throat.

He had been about three seconds too late and as the notorious drug dealer crashed through the window, plummeting to the street below, Oliver slid forward on his knees, catching Felicity before she fell to the floor.

Sweat trickled down the side of his face as he pulled the syringe from her neck, cradling her head in the crook of his elbow.

'Felicity?' He muttered softly, his voice cracking as her dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks. He was waiting for it, the reaction to having such a pure and refined version of Vertigo flooding her system. Diggle hadn't even been able to handle it, and he was a trained soldier who served two tours in Afghanistan.

'Y-you killed him...' her soft voice wasn't accusatory, but full of awe that he had ended a life to protect her. Her body shuddered, and Oliver gripped tighter, his brows drawn together in concern as she let out a shuddering breath. 'I think I'm gonna hack...'

Felicity scrambled from his grip suddenly, collapsing onto her hands and knees as she heaved violently, her shoulders shaking with the force of it. Oliver crouched down beside her and held her ponytail away from her face, his other hand resting gently on the small of her back.

The sudden sound of sirens caught his attention, and for a moment - he was torn about what to do. On one hand, she needed a hospital and decent pain medication to get her through the next 48 hours; but that would mean involving the police, risking his exposure. He felt selfish, considering the alternative, but in the end - he scooped her up and held her close to his chest - his heart hurting in fear of what this could do to her.

'O-Ollie? Oh God...Oliver...OLIVER!'

Her scream cut him right to the core and he knew he had to get her back to Verdant, fast. She was struggling to keep her eyes open and tears rolled down her pale cheeks as the agony hit. Oliver felt her body tense in his grip and without thinking about his decision further, he rushed to the service lift, punching the down button frantically like it would make the doors open any faster.

'Hold on Felicity, I've got you,' he murmured, pressing his lips to her brow in an attempt to smooth the lines of pain the furrowed there. As he stepped into the lift, Felicity curled her fingers into the leather of his suit and buried her face into his chest, muffling the scream that would have alerted the cops to their presence. Even in the poor state she was in now, she needed to protect Oliver's identity at all costs, but she couldn't hold back her pain completely, so she continued to sob into his shoulder, dampening the leather with her tears.

Oliver felt his own eyes burn with her pain as he attempted to soothe her with promises he wasn't sure he could keep. 'It's gonna be alright, I'm here. Please...stay with me, keep your eyes open,' he said softly as the doors opened to the parking level. He hadn't even thought of how they were going to get back to the club, but he supposed he was going to have to resort to grand theft auto to get them there. Choosing the most inconspicuous vehicle in the lot - a feat that was rather difficult, considering the wealth of a majority of employees at Queen Consolidated - Oliver set Felicity down to rest against the chassis.

Widening his stance so that one of his legs was braced by her side, he put some of his more useful skills to work and had the passenger door open inside of two minutes. A pained moan brought his attention back the IT girl, and he crouched in front of her, pressing his fingers against her neck.

Her pulse was slowing down and when caught her pain filled gaze, he swore colourfully; her pupils had already constricted drastically, becoming a tiny black dot in a sea of blue. Not wasting another moment, Oliver picked her up and tried to ignore the scream that was pulled from her lips as placed her as gently as he could in the passenger seat. Leaning across her quaking body, he unlocked the drivers door and placed another kiss on her head as he drew back.

'Hang in there, I'll get you safe.' He whispered softly as the tears he was holding back finally escaped. He just prayed to a God he knew _couldn't_ exist that he could.

→ → → _ARROW_ ← ← ←

The borrowed car squealed to a stop around the corner from the night club. He would have to take the back entrance to avoid making a scene and he hoped Felicity could keep quiet for that long. Turning to the sobbing woman beside him, he cupped her face reverently and brushed a calloused thumb across her cheekbone.

'Felicity...I know this is going to be difficult, but I need you to keep as quiet as you can until I get you to the basement. Can you do that for me?' He asked softly, patient when it took a couple of seconds for her to nod. 'Good girl. You're going to get through this, I know you will.'

Closing the door quietly, he rounded the car and pulled Felicity from the passenger side, noting the blood on her lip in regret. It looked like she had bitten through the skin in an attempt to stay quiet. Adjusting his precious cargo, he stuck to the shadows - slipping by the hoard of drunken club-goers unnoticed. His entry via the alley was quick and stealthy and sooner than he imaged, he was punching the code into the keypad and nudging the door open with his knee.

'Dig! Clear the med table,' he barked out as he descended the stairs, meeting Diggle's gaze as he stepped into the light.

The ex bodyguard gasped and made short work of the items on the steel slab before Oliver set her down as gently as possible.

'I was too slow, Dig,' he explained regrettably, in response to John's unspoken question. 'The Count got her before I could kill him.'

'So he's dead?' Diggle asked, pulling over the heart monitor as Oliver lifted Felicity slightly to unzip her pink dress. Now wasn't the time for modesty, but all the same, his concern grew when she didn't protest.

'He's dead.' He replied eventually, stripping her to her underwear and laying her back. That's when he realised, she hadn't uttered so much as a moan since entering the basement. His stormy eyes flicked to her face and his heart raced as he slapped her cheeks.

'Felicity? Wake up! C'mon, don't do this!' He begged, barely holding on to his composure. He wiped the blood from her lips and stepped back in shock, his gaze lifting to meet Diggle's.

'Damn it,' the dark man hissed, pressing his fingers to her wrist. 'Cyanosis. Her blood isn't getting enough oxygen because her breathing is too slow. Look, her fingernails have the same colouring. _Shit_! Come on, girl. We need you here!'

That was when Oliver's wall came tumbling down. He jammed his fist into his mouth to stifle the choked sob that rose from his throat, and stepped back as Diggle attached an oxygen mask to her face.

'Oliver, I need you to _focus_. I know you care about her...but she needs you right now. You can't afford to lose it, or you might lose her!'

That thought alone snapped him back in to reality, but as he wiped his eyes and squared his shoulders, Felicity's back arched off the table, her body as taut as his bow string before it began to convulse violently. Bloody foam spilled from her blue tinged lips and Oliver nearly lost himself to the rapid beeping of the heart monitor, which had been too slow only moments before.

'OLIVER! We're losing her!' Diggle cried, his control nearly snapping as she flat-lined; her body falling limp against the cold steel.

'NO!' Oliver bellowed, swinging himself up to straddle her hips and pushing the mask away from her face. Tears clouded his vision as he began the compression's. _30 and 2,_ he reminded himself as he waited for Diggle to charge the defibrillator. This wasn't going to happen - he would _not_ lose anybody else. As continued CPR, he vaguely remembered Thea and his mother, waiting for his support at the hearing - but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. He would come up with a transparent lie, and they'd hate him for a couple of days, but ultimately, they'd get the fuck over it.

'Oliver, move!' Diggle ordered, placing the electrodes on her chest as Oliver stepped back. Felicity arched off the table as the charge was released, before slumping back with a thud. Diggle increased the charge and Oliver found that he couldn't breathe through the emotion.

'Felicity, please, _please_...' he begged thickly through his tears.

'I've got her! Oliver! I have a pulse!' He whooped and rushed over to the medicine cabinet, rifling through the drawers frantically until he found what he was looking for.

'What's that?' Oliver asked, finally taking a breath but not yet trusting his legs to hold him if he stood.

'Naloxone. It reverses the effects of narcotic overdose. I invested in some as soon as I heard that Vertigo was in high circulation, but I didn't want to use it...just in case.'

He explained, jabbing the needle into the crook of her elbow and placing the oxygen mask back over her mouth.

'What now?' Oliver asked, using the table as a crutch to help him stand. He laced Felicity's slender fingers through his own and brushed the hair from her face gently.

'Now, we wait. She is not going to feel well when she wakes up though. It'll be at least two day's before she's feeling better. Oliver, man...it's OK.'

He didn't answer. He just focused on her face, talking softly to her as he carded his fingers through her hair. Diggle just smiled and shook his head. The kid wouldn't be moving anytime soon, and he expected nothing less.

* * *

 **Originally, this was going to be a one-shot - but I've broken it into a two chapter story as a trial run. Let me know how I did! Next chapter will focus around Felicity's recovery and Ollie's guilt.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I** **'m back! Sorry it took so long - I just got made redundant at work, so between job searching and interviews, I haven't had a lot of time. I really appreciate your feedback on this story - I'm trying to broaden my repertoire from** _ **Merlin**_ **and** _ **Supernatural**_ **\- and fan fiction is a great way to hone my writing skills for when I eventually publish my book. I may have a larger scale Arrow fiction coming, but for now I'll stick to one-shots!**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Arrow or any associated characters. Just having a little play is all. AU of 2 x 07_

* * *

 **3 Seconds**

Felicity came to very slowly. Her head pounded fiercely and her chest felt constricted as she struggled to draw breath. Loud clanging and grunts of exertion forced her to turn her head, and the resulting spike of agony in her neck and shoulders caused her to groan softly. Even without her glasses, she could see the blurry outline of a shirtless Oliver, climbing the salmon ladder - his brow furrowed in concentration as he worked through his frustration and probable guilt.

Testing her voice, she called to him - the cut on her dry lips splitting as they formed his name, but it didn't come out as strong as she wanted it to. Fumbling with the oxygen masked that covered her mouth, she tried to sit up, but nausea roiled in her stomach and she had to move quickly to prevent covering her self in vomit. Bile splattered to the floor and she was vaguely aware of Oliver dropping from the top of the ladder and rushing over to her.

'Felicity?' He called gently, pressing a large palm to her sweaty brow, his fingers brushing through her hair absentmindedly. She heaved again, but her stomach was empty and cramping painfully from the dry heaving. Her throat burned fiercely as she hung over the table, her eyes level with the muscled planes of Oliver's abs - which would normally leave her blushing - and with a ragged sigh, she allowed him to lay her back and adjust the mask to her face.

When she finally looked at his face, she was taken aback by the intense emotion swirling in his stormy eyes - she had never seen him look so vulnerable before and her heart ached for him, even though it was clearly her pain that caused his.

Felicity couldn't trust herself to speak, so with she took his hand and laced her trembling fingers through his. He squeezed gently and pressed his lips to her forehead, conveying his regret through the lingering touch.

'I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough,' he told her softly, the tone of his voice unfamiliar. She frowned and shook her head.

'Don't,' she replied, closing her eyes. She was utterly exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep, but the pain was returning with full force.

She gasped and bit her lip, arching slightly to escape the pain. His hand pressed to her stomach gently and when he pulled back, she recognised the look on his face as fear.

'Relax,' he urged, reaching down to the rack beneath the table and retrieving a folded blanket. He draped it over her quaking form and tucked it around her. 'Diggle will be back soon - he's gone to get some good pain killers for you, OK?'

Felicity nodded, but couldn't stop the small cry of pain from passing her lips. She gripped his hand tighter as a distraction, but all she wanted to do was pass out; to escape the horrible cramping that worked its way up her body.

'Make it stop,' she panted, meeting Oliver's pained gaze. 'Please...'

He released a shaky breath, his lips trembling as he cupped her face with both hands.

'Hang in there, OK? I'm not going anywhere,' he assured, reaching into his back pocket for his phone.

As the cramping reached her stomach, a broken scream tore at her throat and Oliver nearly dropped the phone as Felicity slammed her head back - only half aware that she probably didn't need a concussion on top of everything else. Holding the phone to his ear with one hand, the other slipped behind Felicity's head to cushion the blows.

'Digg, where the hell are you!' He growled, his eyes not leaving hers. After a few moments, he nodded and hung up the phone. 'Hold on, he's coming.'

Pulling her up, Oliver pressed her to his chest and splayed a hand across her naked back. 'I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry,' he whispered into her hair as the door opened at the top of the stairs. Heavy footsteps echoed around the open room as Diggle approached and after a muted conversation, Oliver lifted her off the table with the blanket still wrapped around her and moved to the dark green sofa that she had purchased months ago.

It was far more comfortable than the table and Felicity relaxed a little as he sat, arranging her so that her head was pillowed against his thigh. 'I've got some heavy duty meds here for you girl,' Diggle explained softly, massaging the soft skin at the crook of her elbow. 'You're going to feel a little pinch, then you'll be as right as rain, promise.'

The needle slid into her skin and she flinched, turning her head away with a whimper - but it was quick. For a moment she couldn't breath and her eyes snapped open, searching for Oliver. His lips were moving, but she couldn't hear him through the blood rushing in her ears.

The feeling of suffocation passed and she sucked in breath after breath as warmth flooded her body and replaced the agony that threatened to pull her under.

A lazy smile crossed her lips and she relaxed further, her lids fluttering slightly as the pain disappeared altogether, leaving her dazed and floaty.

'S'much better,' she murmured, turning her head away from the harsh lights above and closing her eyes.

'Rest,' she heard Oliver mutter, before she was lost to sleep.

→ → → _ARROW_ ← ← ←

As she passed out, Oliver slumped against the back of the couch and scrubbed a hand over his face. It had been a long night. He'd never even considered Felicity being in so much pain before, and now that he'd seen it, he decided he would do anything to stop it from happening ever again.

'You good man?' Diggle asked, sitting on the floor by Felicity with another dose of morphine for when she woke up again.

Oliver shook his head and threaded his fingers through the blonde hair splayed across his lap.

'This can't ever happen again,' he muttered, looking down at her now peaceful face. The fear of losing her had exhausted him and now that she was relaxed and sleeping, he wanted nothing more than to join her in the land of nod.

'I agree,' Diggle said, tucking the blanket more tightly around her. 'She's going to be OK, you know?'

Sighing, Oliver nodded, his fingers never ceasing their movements. He needed to hold her, to make sure she didn't slip away.

Diggle could feel the guilt coming off him in waves - he would take a lot of convincing that this was not his fault, because Felicity was in his care. He felt it was his mission to keep her safe and in his mind, he had failed her.

They descended into silence and soon Oliver was dozing, but the lines of stress in his face did not ease. Diggle let him go and watched Felicity for any signs of pain and after about an hour, she stirred.

'Hey girl,' he whispered so as not to disturb the sleeping vigilante.

She opened her eyes and offered him a tired smile. 'Hey Dig,' she replied, wincing as she shifted slightly.

'Need another hit?' Diggle asked, preparing the second syringe.

Felicity nodded slightly, nudging into Oliver's touch. The movement caused him to wake suddenly and he looked at Diggle questioningly as he injected the morphine into her blood.

'I'll leave you guys to it. Call me if you need anything,'

Oliver nodded and looked down at Felicity with a concerned frown. 'You scared me,' he admitted quietly.

She reached up and took his hand gently. 'It's not your fault,' she replied with a reassuring smile. If Oliver didn't know better, he'd say she was psychic.

'Yes, it -'

Felicity cut him off with a finger to his lips. 'Shut up, Oliver. I had a lead and I followed it. This was my mistake and you saved me.'

'If I had some sooner...'

Her eyes flashed, and even under the influence of morphine, she managed to look angry.

'You will not beat yourself up about this.' She said firmly. 'My life. My choice, End of story. Got that Queen?'

'But-'

' _No._ You are not to blame. The Count did this, so stop beating yourself up. I'm fine.' She said firmly.

'I almost lost you.' He whispered brokenly, bending down to kiss her cheek. 'You're very important to me and I can't lose you.'

She smiled. 'You didn't lose me. I'm right here.'

'You'll be more careful next time?' He asked.

'I promise. I'll stick to computers from now on, like a good IT girl.'

'Good. I will be very angry if you break that promise.' He murmured, causing her to smile.

'I'm not scared of you, Oliver Queen. You're a softy...well...you're actually pretty hard...oh god, I mean...not _hard,_ hard...that would be awkward...not that I would mind making you hard, OK shutting up in 3...2...1,'

Her face was bright red and she wouldn't meet his gaze, but he grinned - loving his girl just a little more.

* * *

 **I decided to finish it there. I love Felicity - she's so adorably awkward around Oliver and I hope I did her little ramble justice...**

 **Thank you to everyone who read this and feedback is always appreciated.**


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